This routes your traffic through two VPN servers. You also cannot use ExpressVPN to create a multi-hop connection.
Note that you do not need a VPN to access Tor, it's just very convenient. The service does not provide push-button access to the Tor anonymization network, which bounces your requests through several volunteer intermediaries for even more privacy.
Unfortunately, that's the end of ExpressVPN's privacy features. Split tunneling is useful for activities like gaming or streaming media, which require a lot of bandwidth but are comparatively low risk. Hotspot Shield VPN goes the other direction, providing access to several other privacy and security tools from other vendors.ĮxpressVPN does provide split tunneling, which lets you designate what traffic should travel through the VPN's encrypted connection and what should travel outside it. Some VPN companies, like NordVPN and CyberGhost, have expanded to include other branded products. As such, it doesn't provide ad- or malware- blocking with its VPN or offer any of the add-ons that you might find with other VPNs, such as dedicated IP addresses. In our conversations with ExpressVPN, the company often came back to the idea that it was focused solely on making the best VPN possible. Avira Phantom VPN, VPN, Ghostery Midnight, IPVanish VPN, Surfshark VPN (a recent Editors' Choice winner), and Windscribe VPN don't even bother to limit the number of simultaneous connections.Įditors' Note: Editors' Note: and IPVanish VPN are owned by J2 Global, which also owns PCMag's publisher Ziff Davis. Instead of slowly upping that cap, VPNs appear to be moving away from such restrictions entirely. That's average among the VPNs we've reviewed. With ExpressVPN, you can connect up to five devices simultaneously.
ProtonVPN, on the other hand, places no data restrictions on its free subscription. TunnelBear VPN does offer a free version, but limits you to 500MB of data per month, while HotSpot Shield's free subscription cuts you off at 500MB per day.
That's not too surprising, as a truly free VPN subscription is very rare. The only thing cheaper than cheap is free, but ExpressVPN does not offer a free VPN subscription tier. Instead, use the shortest option-or free subscription, if you can find one-so you can test out the VPN with all the sites and services you need. Generally, we advise against starting with an annual or long-term VPN subscription. Kaspersky Secure Connection has the lowest annual fee of any VPN we've seen, at just $29.99 per year. You'll save money with ExpressVPN's six-month and annual plans, but the $99.95 annual plan is still well above the $70.06 average we see across the VPNs we've reviewed.